Ancient Ceramic Vessels May Have Been Medieval Hand Grenades

Maybe Monty Python wasn't too far off from reality with its Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in the 1975 cult classic movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Researchers studying enigmatic ceramic vessels from medieval Jerusalem suspect some of them were used as explosive devices. 

The sphero-conical vessels date to the 11th and 12th centuries. They were already known to have been used to hold beer, medicine, oils and even mercury, but some of the containers appear to have held flammable explosive material. A study published in the journal Plos One this week details the new findings.

The researchers investigated the residue from ceramic sherds, finding evidence of oils and medicinal materials. According to the study, one unusual sherd from a thick-walled, undecorated vessel "supports the possibility it was used for the storage of chemicals or may have held the chemical ingredients for an explosive device, consistent with a medieval grenade."

Some researchers had suggested objects reported as producing loud noises and bright flashes of light during the Crusades might have contained explosive black powder, but the vessel in the study doesn't show that kind of residue. In a Griffith University statement on Tuesday, lead author Carney Matheson said it was "likely a locally invented explosive material."

Matheson is calling for more research into the vessels and their content as a way to better understand the explosive technology of the medieval period. The researchers didn't address whether the hand grenades could "blow thine enemies to tiny bits" or come in handy when dealing with a killer rabbit. Perhaps those are questions best left unexplored.